Proposition

Like a great many people, I am profoundly glad that this latest election season has passed. During each cycle, we at the paper try to inform people about issues coming before them and do our best to convince readers of the importance of taking part. And, each cycle, I am disheartened by the low turnout. I used to blame laziness and indifference. To be sure, that does explain it partially, but there is a deep and systemic flaw in our system: too many propositions. On Tuesday, people were asked to vote on nine initiatives, two of which, Proposition 20 and Proposition 27, directly contradicted each other.

The author of Proposition 8 is vowing to continue his fight for an Assembly seat in the Sacramento suburbs, despite an earlier pledge to drop out if he failed to finish first in the June primary. Andy Pugno, who drafted the ballot measure banning same-sex marriage in California, came in second to incumbent Assemblywoman Beth Gaines (R-Rocklin) but told the Sacramento Bee this week that he had decided to continue his campaign because of what he called his opponent's "dishonest and unethical campaign tactics" in the final days of the primary.

Still fuming over orders to stand in the background of a gubernatorial news conference while brush fires raged around the county, Burbank and Glendale fire departments came out in opposition Thursday to a ballot proposition they claim would stifle their political involvement. If approved by voters in the special Nov. 8 election, Proposition 75 would require unions representing public employees to get permission from members before spending dues for political purposes.

The price of admission to last weekend's play at El Camino Real Charter High School was anything but typical. Then again, neither was the play. Students had to submit essays describing their views on gay marriage. The play, "8," dramatizes the 2010 trial that overturned California's ban on gay marriage. El Camino's production was probably the first time it has been performed by a high school cast, a main reason why author Dustin Lance Black attended and participated in a discussion afterward.

DARIO FROMMER Like a family or a business, California has a limited capacity to borrow money. On March 2, two measures, Propositions 55 and 57, will ask voters whether to use that limited credit line to build and modernize schools in our communities or to continue to fund deficit spending in Sacramento. Proposition 55 is the second part of a $25-billion bond package to help local school districts like Glendale and Burbank modernize old schools and build new ones to relieve overcrowding.

The background on ballot measure Proposition 34, "Campaign Contributions and Spending," reads like a political thriller. It goes something like this: The bill was released by California politicians "in the dark of night ... to avoid public knowledge, scrutiny and comment." Proposition 34 is condemned as "an unprecedented example of political deception." Proposition 34 authors have been accused of "conspiring to mislead voters" and "intentionally shutting out" the real opponents of the measure from the voters' ballot pamphlet.

Pacific Gas and Electric, the largest private electric provider in the U.S., has somehow been allowed to use $46 million collected from its customers to put Proposition 16 on the June ballot. PG&E is the dominant backer of Proposition 16 with a single goal: killing competition from the public sector. Proposition 16 is designed to prevent new communities from choosing public power and stop the expansion of existing municipal utilities. It would change the California Constitution to require a supermajority vote for any company except PG&E.

Josh Kleinbaum A few months ago, Gary Wesley checked in with the Secretary of State's office to find out which propositions lacked ballot arguments, either for or against. Wesley, an attorney from Mountain View, has made it his personal crusade since 1980 to make sure every state proposition has two ballot arguments. So, when he found out nobody was arguing against Proposition 59, a proposed constitutional amendment that addresses public records and open meetings, Wesley signed up. "I've been writing ballot arguments for years and years," Wesley said.

A federal appeals court Tuesday rejected an appeal of February's ruling that overturned Proposition 8, a move that is likely to send the debate over same-sex marriage to theU.S. Supreme Court. The decision by the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals paves the way for a high court decision on gay marriage by next year. Proposition 8, passed by California voters in November 2008, reinstated a ban on same-sex nuptials six months after the state Supreme Court had struck it down on state constitutional grounds.

GLENDALE — A Burbank teacher was among teachers, nurses and small-business advocates who spoke out against Proposition 92 at a Monday morning news conference held at the office of the Glendale and Burbank teachers unions. Proposition 92, which will be on the Feb. 5 ballot in California, would change the way state funding for community colleges is determined, and set minimum state funding requirements for community colleges that would be separate from the minimum state funding guarantees for kindergarten through 12th-grade education.

A Burbank couple made national headlines this year after successfully tackling Proposition 8 , California's 2008 ban on same-sex marriage . Burbank residents Paul Katami and Jeff Zarrillo, along with a lesbian couple from Berkeley, challenged the ban in what amounted to a four-year legal battle, full of emotional testimonies, near-endless court hearings and trips to Washington, D.C. In June, the U.S. Supreme Court effectively nullified Proposition...

Assembly Speaker John A. Perez(D-Los Angeles) will soon be trying his hand at another profession: acting. California's first openly gay speaker will join an all-star cast in San Francisco next month for a reading of "8," a play about the federal trial to overturn Proposition 8, the controversial ballot initiative that took away the right of same-sex couples in California to marry. The performance, set for Oct. 7 at the American Conservatory Theatre, will serve as a benefit for the American Foundation for Equal Rights, the nonprofit group that spearheaded the court case against Proposition 8. Past readings have featured celebrities, including George Clooney and Brad Pitt.

The price of admission to last weekend's play at El Camino Real Charter High School was anything but typical. Then again, neither was the play. Students had to submit essays describing their views on gay marriage. The play, "8," dramatizes the 2010 trial that overturned California's ban on gay marriage. El Camino's production was probably the first time it has been performed by a high school cast, a main reason why author Dustin Lance Black attended and participated in a discussion afterward.

The author of Proposition 8 is vowing to continue his fight for an Assembly seat in the Sacramento suburbs, despite an earlier pledge to drop out if he failed to finish first in the June primary. Andy Pugno, who drafted the ballot measure banning same-sex marriage in California, came in second to incumbent Assemblywoman Beth Gaines (R-Rocklin) but told the Sacramento Bee this week that he had decided to continue his campaign because of what he called his opponent's "dishonest and unethical campaign tactics" in the final days of the primary.

The campaign committee for Proposition 8 , a 2008 ballot measure that banned same-sex marriage in California, faces $49,000 in fines for failing to properly report and handle political contributions it received. The fines are proposed by the enforcement staff of the state Fair Political Practices Commission against the campaign committee ProtectMarriage.com - Yes on 8. The staff found that the group had failed to properly file public reports disclosing late contributions and contributions of more than $5,000, as well as for not properly disclosing an anonymous $10,000 contribution.

Opponents of same-sex marriage asked the U.S. Supreme Court Tuesday to overturn a federal appeals court decision that struck down Proposition 8, the 2008 California ballot initiative that limited marriage to a man and a woman. Protect Marriage, the sponsors of Prop 8, called February's 2-1 decision by the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals “misguided.” “Our Constitution does not mandate the traditional definition of marriage, but neither does our Constitution condemn it,” the group's petition to the high court said.

A federal appeals court Tuesday rejected an appeal of February's ruling that overturned Proposition 8, a move that is likely to send the debate over same-sex marriage to theU.S. Supreme Court. The decision by the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals paves the way for a high court decision on gay marriage by next year. Proposition 8, passed by California voters in November 2008, reinstated a ban on same-sex nuptials six months after the state Supreme Court had struck it down on state constitutional grounds.

Like a great many people, I am profoundly glad that this latest election season has passed. During each cycle, we at the paper try to inform people about issues coming before them and do our best to convince readers of the importance of taking part. And, each cycle, I am disheartened by the low turnout. I used to blame laziness and indifference. To be sure, that does explain it partially, but there is a deep and systemic flaw in our system: too many propositions. On Tuesday, people were asked to vote on nine initiatives, two of which, Proposition 20 and Proposition 27, directly contradicted each other.

The good news first: Last week I had the great fortune to be offered a reporting gig here at the Times Community News chain. As you read this, I'll be breaking in a new beat at the Foothill Boulevard offices of the Leader's sister paper, the La Cañada Valley Sun. Now, the bad news: Perhaps for good, or maybe only for a while, this means an end to my column here. In addition to myriad La Cañada Flintridge issues, I'll also be covering issues of regional importance. To not blur the lines of reporter and opinion writer, I'm going to have to step back for now and see how things play out. Learning so much about Burbank and its residents has been a gift, and being able to throw my 2-cents-worth into city affairs has been a unique privilege.

I am somewhat surprised at the inaccuracies included in prior tea-party-type letters criticizing our elected member of Congress here in the 29th District. Rep. Adam Schiff has a laudable record, both as our representative in the House of Representatives and in his service on the House Judiciary Committee. When the nation was scandalized at the wiretapping of Americans by the National Security Agency and the House Judiciary had their basement hearings on the subject, Schiff's defense of our constitutional guarantees balanced with national security were right on the mark.